The Day After: Deathly Hallows Continued
by OakStone730
Summary: Continues the story of what happens immediately after the Battle of Hogwarts. This is my attempt to tie up many of the things that were left hanging at the end of DH. My first fanfic, written August, 2011. Pairings: HP/GW RW/HG
1. The Morning After

**The Morning After**

With the decision on the fate of the Elder wand made, Harry carefully tucked away both wands into his pocket and only then did the whirlwind of the last 24 hours finally catch up to him. All he wanted to do was sleep, and the vision of his comfortable bed in Gryffindor swam before his eyes. "I'm going to bed," he told Ron and Hermione as he headed wearily towards the door.

"A good sleep-in you have certainly earned, Harry, but wait just a moment please," said from Dumbledore from his portrait behind McGonagall's desk. "Phineas, would you be so good as to locate Minerva? Hermione, Ron, Harry have a seat as we wait for Professor McGonagall."

Too tired to argue Harry sat down where he was on the floor, resting his head on his drawn-up knees. There was a crack and he turned to see Kreacher standing beside him. The room filled with tantalizing smells. "Your supper, Harry Potter," the house elf said with a wave of his hands towards the table that had appeared in the middle of the room with three chairs.

Harry's stomach growled and he tried to remember the last time they had eaten. Shaking off the fog of exhaustion he sat down at the table with Hermione and Ron but before they had time to pick up their forks Professor McGonagall entered the room.

"Thank you, Dumbledore, for locating these three. Eat, children, eat" as she saw their forks stopped halfway to their mouths. "Mr. Weasley, your family is being taken care of - no, no," as Ron rose out of his chair, "I've reassured your mother that you are safe and just need to rest. Now, where to make up beds. Gryffindor tower has suffered damage and can't be accessed until it is thoroughly inspected. We'll have to make do."

With a wave of her wand she conjured up two camp beds in the middle of the room. "Potter, Weasley you sleep here, Miss Granger you may use my rooms-" she broke off suddenly as Harry, Ron and Hermione all stood up and protested, "Hermione stays with us" "I'm not leaving..." "No!"

"It simply isn't proper, Miss Granger is a …" sputtered McGonagall.

"Before you go any farther, Minerva," came a gentle voice from behind them. They all turned to look at Dumbledore's portrait. "Please consider that they have been traveling and living in a tent together for many months. I scarcely think that a night sleeping on the floor of my, excuse me, your office, will do any harm."

"Hermione stays." Ron repeated so strongly that Hermione turned to him and beamed.

Flustered, McGonagall said nothing but gave a shrug and conjured up another camp bed, a noticeable distance from the first two beds.

"Members of the Order & faculty are searching Hogwarts for any Death Eaters who may be hiding here yet, although we expect the cowards have all fled," She flicked her wand at the windows he vast curtains closed, blocking out the morning sun. "Finish eating and then get some rest. Merlin knows you have earned it," she said before sweeping out of the room.

As the door closed behind them, all three of them sank back into their chairs. Hermione sighed, "If Gryffindor tower is too damaged to enter, what shape is the rest of the castle?"

"I dunno, but I saw that the Astronomy tower was in pretty bad shape," replied Ron.

Harry was too tired to join in the conversation. After just a few swallows he stood up and staggered over to the last bed that McGonagall had conjured up. Mumbling "G'night," he was asleep within seconds.

Ron looked over at him as he was spooning a second helping of pudding on to his plate. "He's already out, but I suppose that getting killed and coming back to life could wipe you out for a bit."

Hermione smacked his hand, "Ron, don't joke about that!" she looked over at Harry, "Do you really think it is all over?" she asked. "Seven years, well really, seventeen years and now he can just live his life normally and move on?"

"I don't know if he'll ever be able to live normally. No matter where he goes he is always going to be the bloke who killed You Know Who. He survived the killing curse twice. You don't suppose any of those Death Eaters who escaped are going to see if they can do what You Know Who couldn't do?"

Hermione wandered over to the windows, pulling aside the curtains she looked out over the castle grounds. There were dozens of people gathered in groups, hugging one another, weeping. Ron come up behind her and hesitantly slid his arms around her. She leaned back and rested against his chest, it had been only a few hours since they had shared the kiss but so much had happened since then. Ron turned her to face him, bending down to kiss her.

"No, Ron!"

Ron jumped back, "I'm sorry, I thought, I mean, uh...you didn't object before, um, when-"

"Ron," Hermione hissed, "Look around." Ron glanced around the room, "Harry is asleep, and anyway he wouldn't mind."

"Look at the walls!"

Ron looked at the walls and realized that every former Hogwarts Headmaster in their portraits was staring at them with avid interest, except Dumbledore's portrait. He had moved to the back of his portrait and appeared to be rustling around, his back to them.

"Oh," Ron's shoulders fell, "Maybe we could take a walk?" He asked hopefully.

"You two had best follow Harry's lead and rest. Your family is going to need you tomorrow, Ron," came Dumbledore's voice from his portrait. His words made him remember with a sudden crash of emotion that Fred was dead. He slumped against the window frame, "I forgot, I forgot that Fred's gone. What kind of brother am I?"

Hermione pulled him into a hug, "You are the best kind of brother. Fred was so full of life it is impossible to really believe that he isn't going to come zooming in on a broom, laughing at the trick he played on all of us."

"If he is playing a trick, I'll kill him. Or George will," Ron said choking on a half-sob half-laugh, "I can't believe he is really gone."

"What we need to do right now is get some sleep, I can hardly stand up anymore." said Hermione nuzzling her head against Ron's shoulder. "Do you realize that this time yesterday we were entering Gringotts and we haven't slept or stopped moving since?"

They looked over at the camp beds that McGonagall had placed in the room. "Better than our tent," Hermione said with a little sigh, she lay down and Ron climbed into the bed next to her. Hermione turned so that she could look at him, her head propped up on her arm. "Maybe we can go for a walk tomorrow." she said with a smile.

Ron grinned, "Yeah, I'd like to take a walk tomorrow," he said as he reached across the gap to grasp her hand and they fell asleep.

ooOOoo

The sound of a door closing woke Harry up with a start. Sitting up, he groaned as all the aches and pains from the last two days protested the move. Forcing himself to stand up, he looked around as he tried to stretch the kinks out of his shoulders.

It was strange to be back at Hogwarts. It should feel better he though, this was the only home he had ever known, but so much had changed. Voldemort was dead but Harry felt no joy in his death. So many others had had to die to defeat him. Lupin. Tonks. Mad Eye. Sirius. Dobbie, Colin Creevey. Fred. He couldn't even to bear think what the Weasleys would do without Fred.

Thinking of Ron, Harry looked around and saw the other two beds were empty. Ron and Hermione must have gone downstairs already. Walking over to the windows he realized that the sunlight coming in through the windows was from the sun rising. He had been asleep for an entire day.

The table now held pans of breakfast sausages and eggs being kept warm with a floating blue flame, a big bowl of berries and a plate of sticky buns. Harry couldn't remember the last time he had been this hungry as he sat down and started eating.

His stomach full at last, he stood up from the table. It was time to go down and face everyone. He couldn't even think about what people would think of him, so many dead because of him. What could he even say to the Weasleys?

Bracing his shoulders he walked towards the door, as he pulled it open he looked back towards Dumbledore's portrait. The wall was empty. Puzzled, he looked around the room and saw that all of the Headmaster's portraits were gone. He knew the deceased headmasters were able to wander from portrait to portrait but he had never seen the portrait frames disappear completely before.

Harry came down the twisting staircase from Dumbledore's tower and as he rounded the corner he stopped in amazement. The passageway was filled with people, magical creatures, and even ghosts in a whirlwind of activity. No one paid him any attention as they swept away debris, others were removing damaged tapestries and paintings, the ghosts shouting encouragement at all the workers.

With a half-smile Harry headed down the corridor unnoticed and turned into the Great Hall. The bodies of the fallen were still there, but the room now showed no signs of the battle that had been waged. The bodies were now properly laid out, each on a platform draped with their Hogwarts's house colors. Friends and family were gathered and hushed conversations filled the room. Sunlight filled the Hall mutely through the Enchanted Ceiling.

Harry saw Ron and Hermione with the Weasleys at the far end of the room, Fred's body was clearly visible on the red and gold covered platform. Forcing himself to walk towards them, he started moving down the passageway.

The mourners stopped their conversations and turned towards him as he walked by but he was only looking for one person. His pace quickened as he saw her talking to Ron and Hermione. His breath caught as she turned and saw him. It was impossible to say who moved first but they ran towards each other and met in the middle of the room. With a muted cry he lifted Ginny up and into his arms in a backbreaking hug.

They held each other tightly without speaking. Harry had to shut his eyes tight to hold back his tears. Barely a year had passed since their first kiss in the Gryffindor common room and so much had happened since then. He hadn't dared hoped to ever hold her again. And the countless nights that he had spent in the tent, wondering what she was doing, if she was seeing anyone, if she was okay.

"Ginny, I…" Harry couldn't finish the sentence, there was too much that needed to be said and now wasn't the time with the entire room of people staring at them.

"I know, me too" she said softly. He loosened his arms and took a deep breath. With his arm around her waist they walked to where her family was waiting.

Mrs. Weasley was the first one to reach out and hug him, "Harry, Harry, look at you, you've grown so and clearly you did not get enough to eat, all three of you so thin..."

"Harry, my boy, Harry" Mr. Weasley patted him on his back as Mrs. Weasley continued to hug him.

"I'm so sorry about Fred, Mrs. Weasley, I never meant …I should have-" Harry choked out at last. Mrs. Weasley broke away from him and gripped his shoulders hard and shook him.

"You never what? You should have what? You didn't do anything wrong, Harry. Fred died because he knew that the Death Eaters had to be defeated, that Voldemort must be stopped. Even if there was no Harry Potter, the battle would have been fought, Harry. And people would have died, more people would have died." Mrs. Weasley's voice rose and tears started flowing down her face. "Because of you Harry Potter, the battle was won. Voldemort is gone. I lost my son, but I am so grateful that the rest of my family is here today, that you and Ron are back together with us."

Harry clung tightly to Mrs. Weasley. The tears that he had been holding back just started to flow. He hadn't realized how scared he had been of losing them. The Weasleys were the family he had always wanted to be a part of, the only family he had ever known. They had suffered so much because of him. Mrs. Weasley gently patted him on the back. "I love you like a son, Harry. You will always be a part of this family." Harry looked over Mrs. Weasley's shoulder and saw Ginny, beaming a teary smile. Everything was going to be alright, Harry felt the pressure release from his shoulders.

A voice spoke up from behind them, "Harry, I would like you to meet my grandson, your godson." Turning Harry saw Andromeda Tonks holding a sleeping baby boy. Swaddled in a blanket with only a little tuft of light blue hair visible on the top of his head. Looking past them he saw Lupin and Tonks laid out next to each other. "I'm so sorry Mrs. Tonks, Nymphadora and Lupin, they should have had more time with their son."

"Fortunately he will have a godfather who knows what it is like to lose parents so young. They," she gestured at the couple who even in death were holding hands, "did not want their child to grow up in a world filled with fear. Look around Harry, these people did not die because of anything you did but because of what Voldemort did and because he had to be stopped."

Harry nodded, but he couldn't shake the feeling that there should have been a way to save them, if he had found the Horcruxes sooner, if he had been able to plan better. Beyond Lupin he saw Colin Creevey laid out on brilliant Gryffindor colors of red and gold. He was surrounded by fellow Gryffindors. "Seamus, Oliver, Lee" Harry greeted them with a nod. "Where is Colin's family? Aren't they here?"

"They are on their way, the Ministry is bringing them up by the Hogwarts Express, them and the other Muggle families" said Oliver. "We are watching over Colin until they get here."

"Gryffindors stick together." said Seamus. "It is good to have you back, Harry."

"Lee, I heard one of your radio shows," Harry said, "It was really amazing. You did a lot of good - reassuring and helping everyone," Lee smiled. "But did you really have to call it Potterwatch?"

"It is what everyone was doing, Harry, waiting and watching for you." Lee said, "We all wanted to know what was going on, they had to have something to go on, the rumors were just out of control. That you had died, that you had run off to who knows where. People still want to know what happened, Harry. Would you think about doing a final show -"

"No," said Harry brusquely. The three Gryffindors looked at him, their faces hardening, and he put his hands up defensively, "Look, there was a lot going on, there was stuff that I had to do that I can't talk about. But, it's over now, can't we just move on?"

Oliver, his old Quidditch captain, pulled him aside, "Look, Harry, moving on isn't going to be easy for these families..." he gestured down the room, "You are the team captain now, mate, whether you want to be or not. Your team won, but you need to talk to the families that lost a player. You need to say something to them. They all, we all, answered the call to come here, to fight with you."

Harry looked down the Great Hall, the families now lined both sides of the passageway now, parents, children, grandparents. They all stood waiting for him, looking back at Oliver, he nodded "You're right."

Steeling himself as if to face a Hungarian Horntail, Harry started to move towards the gauntlet of mourners. Ginny came up behind him and slipped her arm through his and he was grateful that he didn't have to face this battle alone. Together they moved towards the next family.

Some people he recognized from Hogsmeade - residents who had heeded the call to arms, others he recognized as having graduated from Hogwarts in the years that he had been there, members of Dumbledore's Army. Many who had died and those who had come to mourn them he didn't recognize.

He listened to the families as they told them about their loved ones, he didn't think the murmured platitudes that he told each family could help in their grief but it was all he had to offer and it seemed to be enough. Finally they came to a small table that was covered with the Hogwarts Flag, four house elves lay atop. Guarding their place was Kreacher and Winky.

"Harry Potter, Harry Potter, you came back." said Winky. "Hello, Winky, Kreacher. I saw you in the fight. Thank you." he said simply. "Who are the house elves behind you" "Four Hogwarts house elves who were proud to die in the name of Dumbledore, in the name of Hogwarts, in the name of Harry Potter" said Kreacher, with a Regulus's locket still around his neck. "Grax, Wrinkel, Thoma, and Carth"

"Kreacher, have you told Winky about Dobbie?" asked Harry hesitantly. Winky gave a silent, teary nod. "We buried him in a beautiful place by the sea. He died rescuing me and the others, he was very brave." Winky sobbed and Kreacher gently patted her on the shoulder, "You are a good wizard Harry Potter." said Kreacher.

Moving away from the elves and heading back to the Weasleys, Harry looked around the room and for the first time noticed the portraits on the walls of the Great Hall. All of the headmasters of Hogwarts were looking down with pride upon the defenders and protectors of the school. Harry still gripped Ginny's hand firmly in his own, afraid to let go of her again. The hour that he had spent talking to the families had drained him.

"Harry, McGonagall and Kingsley Shacklebolt would like to speak with you, when you are ready.

They are in the Hospital Wing I believe, visiting the injured." Mr. Weasley stepped forward. Harry stifled a sigh, he'd known that there would be have to be a debriefing, but he'd hope to put it off as long as possible. Better to get it over with now.

Harry Potter nodded "Ron and Hermione need to come also." Looking down at Ginny, well aware of the rest of the Weasleys watching them, he simply said "I'll find you when I'm done, alright?" With just a nod in agreement, Ginny slipped her hand out of his with one last squeeze and walked back to her mother's side.

Together the trio walked from the room. As they turned down the corridor heading towards the Hospital Wing, Ron stopped Harry "Wait up a minute, I need to know. What is going on with you and Ginny?"

"Ron-" Hermione started but Harry interrupted.

"It's okay Hermione" Harry looked at Ron. He owed his friend a straight answer. "I don't know yet, I know I can't just pick up where we left off last year. But," He paused, not sure how much he could tell Ron without getting his big brother protection up. "I missed Ginny this whole year-"

"You sure didn't talk about her! I thought you'd just forgotten about her since you never even said her name the whole time we were together - except for that night..." Ron trailed off as he remembered that that was the night that he had left their camp and it had taken a month for him to find them again.

Harry looked at Ron, "I thought about her all the time. I couldn't stop thinking about her." He stalked down the corridor, Ron and Hermione running to catch up.

Harry stopped and spun to look at Ron, "Do you want to know the last thing I thought about in the Forest, surrounded by Death Eaters, as Voldemort was raising his wand at me? Ginny," He set off again down the corridor as Ron and Hermione stood there stunned.

"Now you've done it," Hermione said to Ron.

"Whatcha mean?" Ron hackled back, "He must really like Ginny if he did that."

"Are you blind? Or just barmy? Of course he likes Ginny!" Hermione retorted right back. "He is crazy about her, he always has been. He just broke up with her so that she would be safe from the Death Eaters and so she wouldn't get more hurt if he died. And now you've made him go and tell you things that maybe she would have liked to known about first."

"Cor, you knew all this and you didn't tell me?" Ron said to Hermione's back as they hurried to catch up to Harry.

"Harry, wait up. We need to make sure that we know what we are going to tell them before we meet with McGonagall," Hermione said, as she pulled his hand away from the Hospital Wing door.

"We need to just tell them the truth." said Harry.

"Sure, but the whole truth? I mean, Harry, are you going to tell them that you were a Horcrux?" Ron whispered, looking around to make sure no one could hear. "What if they think that Voldemort is still in you, they might not believe that he is really gone. Maybe they will lock you up until they're sure."

"The time for secrets is over" said Harry.


	2. Moving On

They opened the door to the Hospital Wing and all three of them stood looking around in stunned shock.

"Blimey," breathed Ron. Every bed was filled, some patients were resting in chairs, and additional cots had been set up in the corridor between the beds.

Madam Pomfrey stood in the middle of the room issuing orders. "No more visitors! There are far too many people..." she broke off as she realized it was Harry. "Well, Mr. Potter, I am glad not to have you filling one of my beds, although you certainly took your share of injuries while a student here. Who are you looking for?"

"Mr. Weasley thought that Professor McGonagall was here."

"She certainly is, I believe she is with Mr. Longbottom down at the end there."

As they made their way down the passageway, they had to carefully move around the beds and patients that filled the corridor. The room fell silent as they passed by, all eyes staring at Harry. A few Hogwarts seventh years were in the beds and the three nodded a greeting but didn't stop to talk.

They made their way to the last bed. Neville lay with his head carefully swaddled in gauze. His grandmother stood by his bed talking to McGonagall. "Hullo, there Neville," said Harry. "Nice job with the snake," he added with a small smile.

"Not bad at all!" said his grandmother proudly. "I couldn't believe my eyes when he escaped from the Sorting Hat and pulled a sword out of it!"

"I think you are going to go down in the books as the only person to tell Voldemort to his face that you would join him when 'hell freezes over," laughed Ron.

Neville smiled briefly and then looked over at Harry, "It made me so mad. You've been fighting Voldemort ever since I met you, and you'd never given up. Couldn't believe it when I saw you in Hagrid's arms. To see you dead, knowing you had sacrificed yourself for us-"

Harry started to protest, Neville held up his hand, "No, let me finish. When I saw you outside of the school, when you told me about the snake. I knew where you were going. You said you weren't going into the forest, but I knew you, Harry, and I knew what you were about to do," tears started rolling down Neville's face.

"And I thought, just for a moment, that maybe it was the right thing to do. Maybe, no one else would have to die. And then when he brought you out like a trophy to throw down at our feet I realized that it was never going to end until he was dead. I went a little crazy, running up to him like that. And then I somehow had the sword in my hands and I almost swung it at him, but I wasn't going to let you down. I did what you wanted me to do. I wanted to go down fighting."

Harry leaned over and grasped Neville hard into a hug, almost pulling him out of the bed. Hermione turned towards the wall as she sniffled loudly. Neville's grandmother pulled out a handkerchief from her purse and sobbed into it.

"You showed us all what bravery truly is, Neville," said Harry, when he at last could find the words, "You did us all proud - Dumbledore, Hogwarts, Gryffindor, your family."

"You truly are your parents' son, Mr. Longbottom," Professor McGonagall said, "A true credit to this school. Well, we will leave you to rest, Mr. Longbottom, Augusta and hope to see you at the ceremony tomorrow. Harry, I need to talk to you."

"Ron and Hermione are coming also, Professor McGonagall, they were as much a part of this as I was," Harry said firmly.

McGonagall eyed them all closely, "Very well. Minister Shacklebolt is waiting for us in my office." Saying their goodbyes to the Longbottoms, they left the Hospital Wing and headed down the corridor, hurrying to keep up with McGonagall.

"What ceremony, Professor McGonagall?" asked Harry.

Stopping, she stared at him. "The Burial Ceremony, has no one told you?"

"We haven't had a chance to tell him yet, Professor McGonagall," said Hermione.

"I see, well, the families of the fallen decided that the 53 brave witches and wizards who fought-"

"And magical creatures," interrupted Hermione.

"Yes, all who fought in the battle will be buried here on the grounds of Hogwarts. Their bravery and sacrifice in fighting will stand as a strong testament to future generations. And serve as a warning to those who are tempted by the Dark Arts."

"We are going to have a memorial service for Fred at the Burrow later," said Ron. "Mum wants him here. He loved it here. He always said he was going to come back as a ghost like Peeves, but don't tell her that."

McGonagall pulled open the door to her office and they saw Shacklebolt sitting at the fireplace with his head in the flames talking to someone. "Sit down. We'll just wait for the minister to join us."

"So everyone is safely aboard the Express? Good, good. We are having Hagrid meet them with the carriages when it arrives. Yes, arrangements are being made for everyone to stay either in Hogsmeade or on the grounds here."

They listened as Shacklebolt finished the final details and finally said "Good work, Percy. We'll see you when you arrive."

At the sound of his brother's name Ron sat up. "Was that my brother?"

Shacklebolt stood up, brushing ash from his shoulders. "Ah, yes, Ron, He went back yesterday to help make arrangements for everyone who is arriving for the ceremony. Very few people in the Ministry to be trusted right now. Your brother is one I know I can rely on, now that he has recognized the difference between good bureaucracy and bad."

Nodding to the group, he sat down in the chair offered by Professor McGonagall. There was silence all around the room as McGonagall and Shacklebolt looked at Harry. Harry sat waiting for a question, trying hard not to fidget.

Shacklebolt finally asked "Why did you tell Neville to kill the snake?"

Harry took a deep breath. "Because the snake was a Horcrux," he looked from McGonagall to Shacklebolt. "The snake was Voldemort's last Horcrux. It had to die, so that Voldemort could be killed."

"A Horcrux! The last Horcrux?" choked McGonagall with horror in her voice. "Dare I ask how many Horcruxes there were?"

"Well, it depends on how you count I guess," Harry said with a quick glance towards Ron. Ron shook his head, but Harry's mind was made up.

"How would you count them, Harry?" enquired Shacklebolt.

Taking a deep breath, Harry quietly said "Seven, there were seven Horcruxes."

"Seven!"

"Seven," repeated Harry, more firmly now that he was committed to telling the whole story.

"Where were they? Where are they now? How did you?" McGonagall stumbled over the questions.

"Dumbledore told me about them last year. He had suspected that Tom Riddle had torn his soul into pieces and made the Horcruxes," taking a deep breath Harry went on. "After I found Tom Riddle's diary and destroyed it during my second year, Dumbledore became sure that they existed. He started looking for them. He found three before he died. Well, one of those was a fake, though, so there were still five more to find. After he died then it was my –our job to find the rest. "

"And that is where you were for the last year, finding and destroying Horcruxes? repeated McGonagall as if expecting Harry to deny the charge.

"Yes, basically, and avoiding get caught before we had found them."

"Where did you find them? How did you destroy them?" asked Shacklebolt.

"Well, the diary, and then a ring that Dumbledore found in Riddle's mother's home. Dumbledore destroyed it with the Gryffindor sword. The Slytherian locket - that is why we snuck into the Ministry, Umbridge had it. The Hufflepuff cup, um, that was in Gringotts."

"Gringotts!" sputtered McGonagall.

Shacklebolt looked at Harry with a faint smile on his face, "I would very much like to hear more about that one, Harry, on a different day. That is four Horcruxes."

"Right. The Ravenclaw diadem, it was destroyed in the fiendfyre in the Room of Requirement, that was five. The snake was six."

"And, the seventh Horcrux?"

Harry took another deep breath and said it quickly before he could change his mind, "I was, I was the seventh Horcrux."

McGonagall shook her head in protest and Shacklebolt drew back in his chair. "I was the Horcrux he never knew he had made. It was created the night he killed my parents. Dumbledore never told me that he suspected, that he knew, that I was a Horcrux. He told Snape. Snape shared the knowledge with me before he died."

Harry got up out of the chair and started to move around the office, unable to sit down any longer. "But I think, I think I'd realized even before he told me, it was the only thing that explained how I could see in Voldemort's head, feel what he was thinking."

"If you were a Horcrux and all the Horcruxes had to die before Voldemort, why are you still here?" Shacklebolt asked the question calmly, but his eyes were looking straight at Harry, challenging him to continue.

Harry opened his mouth but couldn't find the words. It was too raw. He looked to Hermione for help.

Hermione continued for him, "It was because what happened during the Triwizard Championship. Peter Pettigrew used Harry's blood to perform the incantation that brought Voldemort back into his body. So part of Harry was living in Voldemort. Dumbledore knew that Voldemort would have to kill Harry, and when he delivered the killing curse in the Forbidden Forest, Voldemort actually killed his own Horcrux. Harry didn't die because Voldemort was still alive."

McGonagall and Shacklebolt just sat and looked at him for a minute.

"How did Dumbledore know that you wouldn't die?" McGonagall looked at Harry, who had sat back down was looking down at a crack in the floor.

Harry looked up briefly up at her, "He didn't, not for sure. But he did what he had to do, just as I did. I would have done anything to prevent more people from dying."

"Yes, but, Potter...to offer yourself up as sacrifice..." McGonagall couldn't finish the sentence.

"The Potter family has always done whatever is necessary to protect their family." Shacklebolt said, "Are you sure he is really gone from you?"

"I'm positive." said Harry, "There isn't a doubt in my mind. I would very much like it if this never leaves this room. If you have to write up an official report, say there are six. If anyone asks me under oath or not, I'll deny it."

"I can assure you that this will never leave this room. I don't want any hopeful dark wizard in the future stumbling across any report about Horcruxes," said Shacklebolt.

"It scarcely seems possible that three 17-year olds would be able to not only discover, but destroy such evil magic," said McGonagall.

Without a word, Harry walked over to McGonagall's desk, from his robe's pockets he pulled out the diary, locket, ring, cup, diadem and set them down on the desktop.

"It took us ten months," he said, with a nod towards Ron and Hermione. "But we found and destroyed them. We couldn't tell anyone about the Horcruxes. If Voldemort had discovered that we knew about them he would have made it impossible for them to be discovered."

"Dumbledore gave his life hunting for the Horcruxes," said Harry, "His injured hand was caused by the cursed ring. Dumbledore was dying. Dumbledore told Snape to kill him. They both knew that he was dying from the curse and it was only matter of time. I don't think they realized that Draco would get the Death Eaters into Hogwarts, but they stuck to their plan: Dumbledore wanted Snape to do it, and he did."

"Snape truly was on our side, Dumbledore was right to trust him," said Harry firmly.

"Snape's body has been recovered from the Shrieking Shack, it is in an ante-room near the Great Hall," responded McGonagall. "Because of his last year here, there are quite a few hard feelings about his role with the Death Eaters, and how punishments were dealt to the students. It is important that we explain, carefully, to the families affected that he was actually on our side.

"When we were hiding out, we didn't know how we were going to destroy the Horcruxes," said Ron. "Snape delivered us the Gryffindor sword. Of course, we didn't know it was him at the time. The sword is one of the few things that can destroy Horcruxes."

"If Snape hadn't delivered it, Voldemort would still be alive," insisted Harry.

Shacklebolt and McGonagall both stared at the dead Horcruxes on the table.

"Where is Voldemort's body now?" asked Harry.

"It was removed to one of the storerooms and is under guard," said Shacklebolt. "We haven't decided where or how to dispose of it."

"A place to consider is where he placed the locket," suggested Harry. "There is a lake filled with Inferi. It is extremely remote and would be impossible for anyone to find it there."

"That would seem very fitting," said McGonagall. "Harry, we would like to talk about the ceremony tomorrow."

"What about it?"

"There are many people traveling in for the ceremony. To honor and mourn those who died, but they are also looking for closure, Harry. The last year was been a reign of terror by not only the Death Eaters and Voldemort, but the Ministry itself."

"There is little trust left in the Ministry," said Shacklebolt. "It will take months, years to repair all the damage was done to the Wizarding families throughout the country. Families were torn about, the innocent were sent to Azkaban, people were tortured."

"I get it," said Harry impatiently. He knew that if he had been able to act faster that fewer people would have been hurt. He could still hear the terror in the Mary Cattermole's voice as she was being questioned by Umbridge, about to be separated from her family for life for the crime of being Muggle-born.

"Shacklebolt is going to speak as Acting Minister of Magic and other dignitaries. But we know what everyone needs to hear is from someone that can assure them that Voldemort is dead. That he won't return. Someone who they will believe, someone who is not part of the Ministry."

Harry looked between the two of them with dawning horror. "Me? No. I can't do it."

"Can't or won't, Potter? If you had asked me a year ago if you three could find and destroy Horcruxes I would have told them you didn't have a chance. But you could and you did," said McGonagall.

Harry got up and started pacing around the room again. "I have gone through the last seven years of my life with people staring at me, never being able to hide because of this." he jabbed at the jagged scar on his forehead, "People either wanting to like me because of it, or hating me for it. The Chosen One, The Boy Who Lived."

He spoke bitterly, "And now, it is over. It is _over_. The pain from the scar has stopped, the visions, the nightmares, the voices have stopped. For the first time in years I don't have to worry about whether I can live up to everybody's expectations. I don't have to worry that I am turning into Voldemort. It is finally over and I just want everyone to forget about me."

Silence filled the office. McGonagall and Shacklebolt looked at each other. After a moment McGonagall looked like she was about to speak when Ron started talking from where he stood by the windows.

"Harry, look at them," Ron pointed towards the steady stream of people that were walking up the drive towards Hogwarts. "The newspapers were telling them lies, the Ministry was telling them lies, and whispered secrets could have got them sent to Azkaban. They were waiting for someone to save them. They were listening to Potterwatch - POTTERwatch, Harry, hoping to hear that there was a glimmer of hope. And all of the sudden, they are supposed to believe it is over?"

"Haven't I done enough? I killed bloody Voldemort. Isn't that enough. It's over!" retorted Harry, angry that Ron, the one person in the room that he thought would be on his side, was against him.

Ron nodded his head towards the window, "It's over for you, mate, but not for them. I know better than anyone what you have been going through. Iwas by your side, most of those times. I've heard your nightmares every night. But, other than Hermione and me, no one knows what you have been through."

"I can't stand up in front of hundreds of people and tell them about everything," ground out Harry with gritted teeth. "I just can't."

"You don't have to tell them everything, Harry. We actually don't want you to tell them everything," said Shacklbolt with a glance at the Horcruxes. "But a simple explanation and reassurance. Do you believe that it is over?"

"Yes!" shouted Harry. "It is over!"

"Then tell them that, but maybe use a few more words than that," said McGonagall dryly.

"I'm not-" started Harry.

"He'll think about it," said Hermione quickly interrupting him. Harry nodded angrily and turned away from them. He didn't want to think about it, he was done thinking about everything that had happened.

"Thank you. That is all that we ask. Kingsley, it is time to meet the inspectors for the damage report on the castle. Hermione, I would very much appreciate it if you could meet the Hogwarts Express when it arrives this afternoon and help direct people to the accommodations. Check with Professor Flitwik he will be able to tell you what to do. Ron, I'm sure you will be with your family, but if not perhaps you could help as well."

McGonagall and Shacklebolt headed towards the door. "What about those?" asked Harry, with a nod towards the Horcruxes,"What shall we do with those?"

Shacklebolt and McGonagall looked back at where they were on the table. "Yes, yes of course," McGonagall went over to the brick wall behind her desk. Tapping a pattern on the bricks caused them to shimmer and disappear revealing a cavity in the wall. She placed the Horcruxes inside the cavity and with a swipe of her wand the wall reappeared. She nodded to the three of them and headed out the door behind Shacklebolt.

Harry, Ron and Hermione watched as the duo went down the passageway. Harry turned back to look at Ron and Hermione, waiting for them to speak.

"I think Ron is right, Harry, people want to hear from you, need to hear from you..." Hermione started, putting her hand on his arm but Harry brushed it off angrily. "I'm going to go find Ginny" said Harry stalking away from the couple.


	3. Ginny

Harry was heading down the corridor, towards the Great Hall, when he glanced through the windows overlooking the courtyard and saw Ginny walking away from the building. He slipped through the nearest doorway and started to follow her.

One of the things he had missed the most was simple things like watching her walk across the room, seeing her laughing with her friends. He'd missed hearing her shouts of laughter at catching the snitch during Quidditch practice. She was heading down towards the lake and he couldn't wait any longer - quickening his pace he ran to catch up to her.

She turned at the sound of his footsteps. Tears were slowly rolling down her face. He had never seen her cry before, he realized with a start as he put his arms around her. Stroking her hair as she silently wept, he didn't know what he could say to comfort her. After a moment she broke away and wordlessly, they walked arm in arm towards the lake, away from the people gathered in the courtyard, watching them.

It was no surprise to Harry when she stopped on the banks of the lake, at the tree where they used to meet after classes.

He sat down, leaning against the trunk of the tree and she took her spot in front of him, leaning against him. They sat like that, simply listening to the wind whistle through the leaves of the tree, the waves lapping against the lake.

Finally, she broke the silence, "It isn't fair. I want to be happy that you are here. But, Fred is gone, he is _gone_. I can't pretend that it is just one of his pranks. I want to be happy that you are safe. I don't have to worry about you anymore. But I can't be happy and I can't be sad. I don't know what to do."

"You don't have to do anything. I'm here. You don't have to worry about me anymore. This is a time for you to be with your family, to say good-bye to Fred," Harry said as he stroked her hair. "And I'll be here tomorrow and the next day. There is no rush. We have all the time in the world now."

They sat there together with their backs against the tree talking quietly as they watched the waves on the lake and the people walking and talking along the paths. It felt so natural and right that Harry didn't want the moment to end. All too soon Ginny turned to face him.

"I should be getting back, my aunt Muriel will be arriving any minute. Mom will need protecting from her," said Ginny as she stood up. Harry scrambled up next to her, and holding her face with both hands, softly gave her a light kiss. It was moments like this he had missed most while they were in hiding. Just being able to spend time with her and not have to worry about anything.

"I think you should let Ron have Aunt Muriel duty," he said with a smile as he dropped his hands from her face. They both knew that they had to go back to the castle though, and slowly strolled back up the hill.

"They want me to say something tomorrow," he said with a rush when they were nearly at the door.

"I heard about that and I think you should do it," answered Ginny. "Everyone in there is trying to understand what happened. I know my parents would like it very much. They think the world of you, Harry. My mom meant it when she said you were a part of our family. I, however, do not think of you as my brother." she added with a smile.

She gave his hand a squeeze before turning and going through the doorway. He started to follow but couldn't go back inside. With a start he realized there was one person he hadn't seen the early morning hours of the battle.

He found Hagrid preparing the carriages and harnessing the Thestrals to meet the Hogwarts Express.

"Harry!" Hagrid swept him up in a hug."I should be givin' yeh the hidin' of yer life. Scarin' meh like that..." Hagrid broke into a deep sobbing cry as he patted Harry on the back.

"Hagrd, Ha-grid, HAGRID" Harry cried out as Hagrid continued to pat him hard on the back. "You're hurting me..."

"Oh, sorry Harry" Hagrid drew his arm across his nose, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "But when I think of yeh, lifeless in me arms, dead to the world-"

"But I wasn't dead, Hagrid," Harry stopped him. "I'm sorry, really sorry. But I didn't dare give you any clue that I was alive or Voldemort would have probably had the snake kill me or the other Death Eaters, and that would have been really fatal."

"Sur' yeh couldn't, I know tha' but, broke me heart it did, I dunno if I'm ever gonna forget yeh, fallin' to the ground and lyin' there as dead as poor Aragog."

Harry wasn't sure how he felt like being compared to the corpse of a giant spider. "I'm sorry Hagrid, but all of those Death Eaters..."

"Don't 'cha fret yerself," Hagrid said with another long wipe at his nose on his sleeve. "Look at me sobbin' 'ere and I 'ave to be gettin' these carriages down to meet the Express, she'll be arrivin' any minute."

"Let me give you hand."

They worked together to get the Thestrals hitched to the carriages. Harry was wondering how many of the returning students would be able to see the strange beasts this coming school year. Too many, he knew.

Just as they were finishing up, Ron and Hermione came up to them. Harry looked at them with surprise, they had come up from the lake path but he hadn't seen them down there while he and Ginny had been by the lake.

"Where have you two been?" he asked curiously. Hermione gave a little jump and moved away from Ron with a guilty glance.

"Oh, we just wanted to take a walk," she said, looking down at the ground.

"Yeah," Ron grinned, "Just wanted to take a walk."

Harry looked from one to the other; Hermione was blushing to the very roots of her hair. "I suppose it is a nice day for a walk," he said with a laugh.

"Yes, well, Hagrid, we are supposed to meet the train, can we ride down with you?" Hermione said briskly, clearly trying to change the topic.

"Of course yew can, Harry, are yew comin' along too?"

"Sure, why not, unless Ron and Hermione don't want any extra company," Harry said, winking at Hermione just to see her blush again.

"Oh, get off it, Harry! Why wouldn't they want company," said Hagrid, fixing that last of the harness, climbed up into the carriages and with a call out from Hagrid the carriages all started moving down the twisting path towards the station.

"So what do we have to do?" asked Harry

"I don't know, Flitwik just said to wait with the carriages," replied Hermione.

"I still don't understand why they needed us to help, everyone knows how to get to Hogwarts from the train, and they'll be in the carriages," said Ron as they climbed out of the carriage at the station. "But it gets me away from Aunt Muriel, so that is alright by me."

"There are a lot of Muggles coming, which is why they are coming by the train, can't apparate," explained Hagrid.

They watched as the train pulled into the station and the passengers started to disembark. Hermione suddenly let out a scream. Ron and Harry both pulled out their wands and looked around for someone attacking. Hermione brushed past them and ran towards the Muggle couple that had just gotten off the train. "Mum! Dad!" Hermione flung herself at her mother and then her father with deep sobs of joy.

"Bloody Hell, where did they come from?" breathed Ron to Harry. But Harry wasn't listening; his eyes were fixed on the two people who had stepped down from the train carriage after the Grangers. The woman was holding her purse grasped tightly in her hands in front of her like a shield. The teen-age boy was looking around hesitantly, standing close to the woman.

"Hey, isn't that your aunt and cousin?" Harry shook his head in denial as his eyes remained fixed on the train to see if anyone else was getting off. Hermione's parents turned back and were pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley forward to meet Hermione.

Harry retreated to the other side of the carriage. He pulled the Invisibility Cloak out of his robes and put it on without hesitation. "Are you hiding, Mr. Big Time Horcrux Hunter?" laughed Ron but he didn't wait for an answer as he walked over to greet Hermione and her parents, nervously wiping his hands on his clothes.

Hermione was still in shock and was gripping her parents tightly as she introduced Ron. The Grangers greeted him warmly, and then introduced the Dursleys. Harry's aunt gave a tight lipped 'hello'. She clearly remembered the last time they had met. Dudley nodded but didn't say anything, holding his hand in front of his mouth. Ron remembered with a laugh that the last time they had met Dudley had eaten one of Fred and George's trick candies that had made his tongue swell so large it touched the ground.

When they found themselves sitting in the carriage Hermione finally composed herself, "What are you doing here? You are supposed to be in Australia!"

"Living as Monica and Wendell Wilkins?" winked her father.

"Yes! I still don't understand. How did you get here?" asked Hermione.

"We have been in hiding for the last year with Harry's family," said Mrs. Granger.

"You couldn't have! I altered your memory!" protested Hermione, "I'm sure I did the spell correctly."

"I'm sure you did, and you will never attempt to do such thing again," said her father.

"To think that you would try to erase you from our memory," said her mother. "We had been worried about you last summer, clearly was something wrong and you wouldn't tell us what. We, well, intercepted one of your owls and sent a message to Professor McGonagall."

"Your Professor McGonagall had arrived just before you tried your spell and she did something to prevent it from reaching us," said her mother. "She had already been planning to come to talk about us going into protection. The Order was concerned about our safety and plans were being made to move us along with Harry's family."

"Where is Harry?" asked Dudley speaking at last.

"I don't know where he has gotten to, he came down with us," said Hermione looking around,

"Hagrid, have you seen Harry?"

"Canna say that I hav'," said Hagrid gruffly, but he looked pointedly towards the Thestrals. Hermione and Ron looked forward and realized that only the front end of one of the Thestral was now visible. Harry clearly wasn't ready for a family reunion, but he didn't want to miss out on the conversation going on.

"So you all stayed together? Where? How?" Hermione asked, still unable to fathom her parents and the Dursleys together, she had never met Harry's aunt before, but knew enough about his history that they were not an easy family to get along with.

"We had a lovely place in Wimbourne," said her father. "The Order seemed it was best to hide us near one of the wizard communities, but we were a little bit out of town."

"How are you doing Petunia?" asked Mrs. Granger looking over at Harry's aunt who was perched on the edge of seat.

"Fine," came the tight-lipped response, her eyes refusing to look anywhere but her purse tightly gripped in her lap now.

Knowing that Harry would want to hear why his aunt and cousin had come to Hogwarts. Ron asked "Mrs. Dursley, did you come to see Harry?"

Petunia did not respond. Dudley, after a moment, replied "I came to see Harry, an' mum did not want me to come alone." He added hesitantly, "The whole time we were hiding the wizards who were watching us kept talking about Harry and they listened to Potterwatch whenever it was on. Couldn't believe they were talking about Harry. And then everyone in Wimbourne started celebrating yesterday and shooting off stars into the sky and shouting that Harry had killed Voldemort."

Hermione looked at him sternly, "We've been at war and Harry did what he had to do, we all did. Voldemort was an evil wizard who had been causing all the trouble for years," she looked at her parents and Aunt Petunia, "Voldemort tried to kill Harry."

"A lot of people died yesterday, good wizards that died fighting Voldemort," said Ron grimly.

"I know who Voldemort is, he killed my sister," said Petunia, pulling herself up even straighter. "That is why I came, I wanted to see the place that took her away from me. I came to see what was so special about this place that she would leave a family that loved her. "

"We are coming up to Hogwarts, can you see the castle?" Ron asked, not sure if the castle would be visible to them, its enchantment made the castle look like a ruin to Muggles who would happen to come across its remote location.

"It's huge," Dudley said with a gasp, "I always thought it would be like a dungeon or something."

"It looks just like you described it, Hermione," said her mother, with a pat on her daughter's hand.

They made their way up the long driveway and pulled into the entrance way and climbed out of the carriage. McGonagall was there, greeting and directing the families.

Harry climbed down from the Thestral and watched as the group went into the castle. He slid the cloak off and started slowly walking towards the doors. Looking over, he realized that the Creeveys were walking next to him as they were entering the castle.

"Excuse me, I wanted to tell you how sorry I am about Colin, I am Harry..."

"I know who you are, Harry. Colin brought home a lot of photographs of you his first year," Mr. Creevey held out his hand to Harry. "He always believed in you, was so proud to be a Gryffindor, to be a part of Dumbledore's Army. Colin wanted nothing more than to go to Hogwarts and be a wizard."

His voice cracked but he went on, "He swore he would fight to make sure that Hogwarts was a safe place for wizards and Muggle-borns," He held out his left hand, clasped in it was the coin from so long ago. "When he got the signal he told me that he had to go and help."

Harry nodded "Colin was very brave. They tried to get him to leave because he was underage, but he snuck back in so he could fight. He was too young to die."

"And now Dennis will be able to go back this fall," Mr. Creevey said with a nod to the grieving boy standing there with his head down. "If he still wants to that is,"

Dennis looked up and exclaimed fiercely, "Try and keep me away!"

Together they walked through the doors of Great Hall. The number of mourners in the room had grown tremendously since the morning. "If you will follow me Mr Creevey, Colin is this way," said McGonagall soberly, leading the way.

Harry trailed slowly behind the group as they walked through, watched as Wood and Finnigan were hugged by Mr Creevey. He couldn't bear to watch as Mr. Creevey and Dennis looked down at Colin.

He saw Hermione's parents consoling the Weasleys. His aunt and Dudley stood awkwardly off to the side, Dudley looking around gap-jawed at the roomful of wizards. Reluctantly Harry walked up to them. "Aunt Petunia, Dudley, I heard you were here." None of them pretended there was a necessity to hug.

"Hullo, Harry," Dudley said, his eyes were looking up at the Enchanted Ceiling that was glistening in the afternoon sun. "Your school is amazing."

For the first time Harry got a good look at Dudley. "Have you been sick, Dudley?"

"Huh?"

"You look like you lost a lot of weight," Harry said.

"Oh. For a long time I was too scared to eat much of anything at the house where they put us. Afraid of something happening," Dudley looked a little green at just the memory, "So I lost a lot of weight, and by the time I knew it was safe to eat most of their food, I just ate less. Dad is mad about it, says I won't be able to wrestle my weight anymore."

Harry stared at Dudley and almost started to laugh. He had never heard Dudley talk so much, but then he had rarely spent time with Dudley when Uncle Vernon wasn't there to rule the conversation. Petunia still hadn't said a word. "Where is Uncle Vernon?"

"He went straight back to our house to make sure the house was okay," said Dudley.

"Do you want me to show you around the school?" asked Harry, not sure what else to do with them. "The battle was here so there is a lot of damage but you can see what it is like."

They both nodded their consent. Harry led them out of the Great Hall and down the corridor. "Hogwarts has been here for over 900 years, so there are a lot of additions. I should warn you that there are ghosts, nice ghosts, for the most part," he said hastily as Petunia gave a little shriek.

"Who are they?" she said speaking for the first time.

"Just people who died a long time ago who chose not to go on I guess," Harry still couldn't grasp why Dudley and his mother had traveled all the way to Hogwarts. Aunt Petunia had always forbidden him from talking about the school, and here she was looking around in wonderment at the moving portraits and endless staircases. He wasn't sure where to take them, so he just randomly started to point out things like the classrooms and trophy cases as they went by.

Dudley stopped to look into the one of the cases. "Harry, this one has your name on it."

"Oh, right, that is the Quidditch cup from a couple years ago. Quidditch is a game, like football but on broomsticks. I played on the Gryffindor team."

"Qwidditsh, yes, we heard a lot about it while we were with the witches at that house. Everyone was always talking about the match-ups with the Tutsills Tornados," said Dudley. "What position did you play?"

Harry couldn't figure out why Dudley was showing so much interest. "I was the Seeker, my job was to..."

"Catch the snitch," finished Petunia, "Just like your father. Lily was always talking about what a good Seeker your father was on the Quidditch team."

"Yes, my father played too, that is him up in the team photograph up there," pointed Harry. Dudley stared fascinated at the people moving in the photograph.

Harry was amazed at how civil Petunia was being, Dudley too, but his aunt had never gone this long without a disparaging remark towards Harry or his parents. A horrible thought ran through his head "Wait here, I'll be right back." and he raced back down the hall.

He caught up to McGonagall as she was coming out of the Great Hall, "Professor McGonagall, I think my aunt and cousin are under the Imperius curse."

"Whatever makes you think that?"

"They are being nice."

"A very strong argument indeed, Potter, but no, your family is not under the Imperius curse. Your aunt and uncle, and you will not breath a word of this to anyone, may have had a slight shall we say adjustment in their attitude," McGonagall straightened her robes out, not quite meeting his eyes. "It made life in the house considerably more bearable for Dedalus and Hestia. I expect it will wear off your aunt in time. Your uncle is already back to his true form. Your cousin, on the other hand, simply grew up and started forming his own thoughts instead of mimicking his father."

Harry gave a sigh of relief and turned to go back down the hall, "Harry, we are going to need a decision about tomorrow, soon. The ceremony starts at ten o'clock in the morning."

"I have to get back to my Aunt before Peeves drops a bucket of water on her head," said Harry hastening down the corridor again. He slowed down as he saw that Dudley and Petunia were talking with Hagrid.

"Hello Harry, I was just tellin' yer Aunt here about how yew were killed by You Know Who an' then came back," Hagrid turned back to Petunia "such a shock I tell yeh, one minute I was holdin' his poor lifeless body an' then the nex' minute he had disappeared from the ground where I'd set 'im. And then jus' like tha' he was duelin', an' You Know Who was dead on the ground."

Harry groaned. Dudley and Petunia were both staring at him like he had two heads. "You died?" Dudley said slowly.

"In a way, but not really since obviously I'm still here-OUCH!" as Petunia pinched him hard on the arm. "Why did you do that!"

"Are you a ghost like the ones you warned us about?" She asked looking suspiciously at him. "No, I'm not a ghost! That is what a ghost looks like!" and he jabbed a finger towards the Bloody Baron who happened to be floating by. There was a thump and Petunia fell to the ground in a dead faint. Dudley fell to his knees and started patting her face.

"Just terrific," Harry ran his hand through his hair, he couldn't believe he had to deal with his own family today of all days. "I suppose it could have been worse and it been Nearly Headless Nick that had come by, Hagrid do you know where they are supposed to sleep tonight?"

"They 'ave made up the classrooms into sleepin' quarters, I think these two are in Professor McGonagall's classroom."

"Could you carry her there, and Dudley, would you like to go with them and make sure your mother is okay?"

"Um, sure, Harry, Where are you going to be?" asked Dudley slowly, clearly not sure he wanted to be left alone.

"I need to go see someone, I guess I'll see you at supper," and without a backwards glance Harry fled the castle.


	4. A Normal Life

Harry stood in front of the Hog's Head, the sound of loud cheers and raucous laughter was coming through the open windows. He slipped on his Invisibility Cloak and pulled the door open and stepped inside. The room was packed with wizards. Harry hadn't seen it so crowded since the first Dumbledore's Army meeting. Some of the occupants looked like they had come to celebrate the day before and never left. A few slept on the floor or in their chairs slumped over a table.

"Aberforth, it's Harry, I need to talk to you," He whispered to Aberforth as he stood behind the bar. Aberforth didn't give any surprise at hearing Harry's voice coming out of nowhere.

"You do, do you. I'm a tad bit busy right now," Aberforth opened a bottle of butterbeer and slid it over to the waiting hands of a customer. "Do me a favor. Harry, next time you are decide to launch a battle and defeat a Dark Wizard steps from my doorway give me fair warning so I can lay in my supplies and restock on firewhiskey. I just served my last bottle of butterbeer and the firewhiskey will be gone in less time it takes for someone to shout out another toast for the great Harry Potter."

"To the Great Harry Potter," a drunken voice slurred out from the back of the room. "To Harry Potter!" came the echoing cries.

"Told you," said Aberforth, but he untied his apron and shouted down to the other bartender. "I'm going down to check the cellar to see if we have anything to keep this lot happy."

Aberforth pulled up the door to the cellar and followed Harry down the stairs, pulling door down behind him. Once he was safely inside the cellar Harry pulled off the cloak and sat down on a crate. The sounds of the bar room filtered down through the floor. He groaned as he faintly heard, "Three cheers for Harry Potter"

"That is what I need to talk to you about; I don't want to be the Great Harry Potter. At the ceremony tomorrow they want me to give a speech. I don't want to do it. I just want to live a normal life for once in my life," Harry knew he was whinging but didn't care.

"A normal life? What exactly do you suppose a normal life is?" asked Aberforth as he rummaged behind crates looking for any bottles that may have been missed.

"You know, live like they do, have a girlfriend, go to school, go to work, not have people constantly talking about you and then stop talking as soon as you walk into a room."

"Hmmm. Do you suppose Lupin had a 'normal life'? Or Sirius, do you suppose he had a normal life locked away he was for most of it in Azkaban? Or Dumbledore, do you think he had a normal life, the greatest wizard the world has ever known who chose to live it hidden away for the most part at a school, with no family but me and haunted by his past. Or me, behind the counter in a barroom kept company only by drunks and thieves and the portrait of his sister who died just wanting a normal life."

Aberforth's voice had risen during and he ended up shouting out the last bit. A voice called down from above, "You okay down there Aberforth?"

"Yeah, yeah, those damn horned weasels got into the crates again," he turned back to Harry and resumed in a calmer voice.

"There is just life and what you do with it. And all-in-all you should be proud of the life you have. Don't hide your talents away. Don't live life in the shadows or under that Invisibility Cloak of yours just because people may talk. It is your life, you decide how it is going to be and that is what your normal is going to be."

With a sudden shout of glee Aberforth darted to a distant corner of the room and picked up a half-filled crate of dusty bottles. "Make the speech or don't make the speech, but whether or not you do or don't it isn't going to give you a normal life. That was decided long before you picked up your first wand."

Balancing the crate on his shoulder he headed back up the stairs. "This might see us through to the morning," he said over his shoulder. "They are going to close up Dumbledore's tomb tonight, Hagrid is repairing the damage that Voldemort did to it right now. I thought you should know."

Harry just sat there, he wasn't sure what he expected when he had come to the Hog's Head but it hadn't been a slap on the side of the head. The anger he had felt at Aberforth's words faded quickly.

He had never truly expected that this day would come, that Voldemort would be dead and he would be alive. That he would have a chance at a life of his choosing, not one that had been forced on to him by Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

The Invisibility Cloak was still on his lap. He rubbed the slippery fabric with his fingers. What Aberforth said was true, he didn't need it to conceal himself from danger anymore. Today he had put it on to avoid people, to escape all of the stares.

If he was going to live his life for himself he didn't want to have to hide to do it. He wanted to be able to walk down the street and not feel self-conscious. The only way that was going to happen was if people got used to seeing him, and he would just have to ignore that attention until that happened. He slowly put the cloak into his pocket, he would save it to use only when it was really needed.

Harry went back up the cellar stairs and entered the bar room. "Where did you come from!" the startled bartender said as Harry suddenly appeared.

"Godric's Hollow," said Harry with a laugh, turning he saw Aberforth down at the other end of the bar. "See ya' Aberforth."

"See ya' Harry," Aberforth replied, a tad louder than necessary.

Harry heard the shouts of recognition but he was already heading out the door. By the time he got back to Hogwarts the sun was setting. He went around to Dumbledore's tomb. Hagrid and Grawp were there removing the broken slabs of marble that had shattered by Voldemort.

"Hey Harry, bastard that You Know Who was he even smashed Dumbledore's grave."

"Are you about done?" asked Harry, not sure how he was going to accomplish what he needed to, and dreading having to do it.

"Yup, we've gotten the broken bits away, and we'll just put the new bit on the top."

"Could I have a minute with him?" he asked hesitantly.

Hagrid looked at him closely, "Of course, yeh can Harry, we'll just hold off over 'ere for a bit."

Harry slowly approached the tomb. Looking over his shoulder to make sure that no one could see, he slipped the Elder Wand from his robe and slid it into Dumbledore's robes.

He wasn't sure if putting it back where it had already been stolen once before was a good idea, but it was the safest place he could think. He gazed one last time at the face that had gently guided him through so many of the difficulties he had encountered while at Hogwarts. The final betrayal, if it could be called that, was immaterial. Harry knew that he would not have wanted to know as an 11 year old boy that he had to die as a 17-year old, and he was fairly sure that if Dumbledore had to do it again, he would follow the same path.

He stood up and dusted off his knees and gave his thanks to Hagrid. "Alright then Harry, we'll close it up."

Hagrid told Grawp to go ahead and his giant half-brother carefully picked up the slab and placed it across the tomb. There was a flash of silver light and the tomb once again formed one solid block.

"May 'e rest in peace," said Hagrid, blowing his nose in a handkerchief the size of a bath towel.

"And not have some Dark Lord smash his tomb into bits," added Harry.

"Aye, that too," agreed Hagrid. "Come on now, they have supper already to go."

The two of them turned back towards the castle, Grawp went back into the Forbidden Forest with a wave of his hand. "'e feels more comfortable in there," said Hagrid affectionately "'e loves playing with the Thestrals."

Supper was spread out in the Room of Requirement, Harry felt a great sigh of relief that the room still had its magical ability to transform into whatever was needed, the Fiendfyre hadn't destroyed it. Tonight it had been transformed into a great dining hall, ten times the size of the Great Hall downstairs. The facility was packed with the hundreds of people who had been traveling to Hogwarts as news of the victory had spread.

Professor McGonagall was at the lead table with the other faculty members. Harry pushed his way through the crowd to get to her. "Yes, Harry?"

"I'll do it." he said simply with a nod towards Shacklebolt who sat next to her.

"Very good," she said with a smile. "And you will be glad to know that Gryffindor tower has been inspected and has been deemed safe to use."

Harry didn't know how he would find anyone in the crowd but scanning the crowds he saw the bright red hair that was an instant identifier to the Weasleys at a distant table. He joined them all and saw that the Grangers and his Aunt and Dudley were sitting there as well. The only seat was a frustrating 10 feet away from Ginny, Dudley was sitting next to her.

"Harry, we wondered you were!" Mr. Weasley greeted him. "Percy has made it back too. It is good to have everyone together again."

Mr. Weasley's smile dimmed slightly and he looked down, "Fred would have wanted everyone to be here," he ended firmly.

"Aunt Petunia, are you feeling okay?" Harry still wasn't sure how he felt about her and Dudley's intrusion into Hogwarts.

"Oh yes, I had a nice lie down and then the Grangers and Dudley and I all walked the grounds."

Hermione leaned over and whispered to Harry, "I saw you talking to McGonagall, what did you tell her?"

"I told her yes."

Hermione's eyes opened in surprise, "You did? Have you written your speech yet? Do you want me to read it?"

Harry gave a snort of laughter, "I only just decided to do it, and you want me to have already written it?"

"Harry, just think you are going to be speaking to all of these people and probably hundreds more."

The smile fell from Harry's face as he looked around. He had been so worried about whether or not to do it, it hadn't occurred to him to worry about what he was going to say.

"Meet me in the Gryffindor common room after supper," said Hermione. "I've made an outline, just in case," she said hastily when he looked at her disbelievingly. "You always leave things to the last minute, remember the Triwizard competition? And you don't have to use any of it, but it might give you a head start."

Despite the sober reason that had all brought all of the wizards and Muggles together, supper had a celebratory feel. The only type of official speech came from Professor McGonagall who stood up and said. "We welcome all of the Muggle and wizard families who have gathered together tonight. Tomorrow will be a day of mourning for those who have fallen, but let tonight be one of celebration to the spirits of those who we lost and a celebration of the end of such a dark period in wizarding history."

Former classmates stopped by their table to say hello, the ghosts floated jubilantly over the tables shouting greetings, a few wizards even held Patronus races - sending their Patronuses racing down the room above the tables. Harry, Ron and Hermione shared some of their adventures with their families, telling them of all the different places they stayed, how they had avoided detection.

Finally, supper was over and they were all walking down the corridor. Aunt Petunia put her hand on Harry's arm and pulled him aside. Harry looked at her with surprise.

"Is something wrong, Aunt Petunia?" Harry asked, looking over his shoulder where Ginny was walking away with her family.

"I just wanted to tell you," Aunt Petunia pulled herself up to her full height, "You clearly belong here. You are just like her."

"My mother?" asked Harry puzzled. Aunt Petunia had never spoken about his mother.

"I never understood how she could leave us, leave her family to go with people like that," Aunt Petunia pointed at a group of wizards who were passing by wearing bright robes and were entertaining themselves by sending multi-colored sparkles and stars cascade down the stairs. "But she was never happier; she glowed when she talked about Hogwarts. And I was jealous, I wanted to be a part of her life, and I couldn't be. It made me mad that she had to be so different."

"My mother was a very gifted witch, one of the best that ever came through Hogwarts, they tell me," Harry said defensively.

Petunia went on as if she hadn't heard him, "When you were a little boy I could tell, that you were different, just like she had been. And I knew that you would have to go away, just like she had. And it made me so angry; to know that I would lose the last thing my sister had held dear. And I hated you because of it," She looked straight at Harry.

"But you still let me go to the school, you let me come back."

"I knew that you were lost to us the very first time you made a toy float up in the air. I'm not going to apologize for anything that happened, but I will say that I am glad you found a place where you belong. You are happy with these people. Lily would have wanted that for you." With that she stalked alone down the corridor.

Harry watched her leave. He had never understood why he had been so ignored as a child, how anyone could treat a child like the Dursleys had done him. He remembered the young Petunia that had appeared in the Snapes's memory in the Pensieve.

Petunia had written to Hogwarts to try and get admitted. Like it or not, she and Dudley were the last link he had to his mother. As he hurried to catch up to Ron, Hermione and Ginny he wondered if the Dursleys coming to Hogwarts was the first tentative connection that would prevent that link from being permanently broken.

"Your aunt and Dudley were nice," said Ginny as they were climbing the steps to Gryffindor tower. "They don't seem anything like you talked about."

"That is because McGonagall put a charm on her," said Harry with a laugh.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously." said Hermione, "My mother said it was unbearable for the first week and then all of the sudden your aunt and uncle were being pleasant, if not altogether nice. It occurred right after a visit from Professor McGonagall."

They were standing in front of the Fat Lady and all of the sudden they realized that they had no idea what the password could be.

"Very good to have you all back" said the Fat Lady with a smile as she opened up the passageway.

"Where is everyone?" asked Hermione as they entered the empty room

"I think they went down to Hogsmeade to celebrate"

They all stood quietly looking around at how the room just looked like they had left it. "I didn't think I would ever be back here," said Hermione with a catch in her throat. Ron put an arm around her and they started kissing.

"And he warns me about snogging" said Ginny with a humph.

"No, Ron, I have to help Harry with his speech," broke away Hermione.

"Why don't I help him with his speech and you two go off somewhere," said Ginny staring at her brother rather pointedly.

"Okay, if you are sure, here is what I outlined already," Hermione pulled a scroll of parchment from her little beaded bag.

"You are still carrying that purse around?" asked Harry incredulously. Hermione gave a shrug and then smilingly followed Ron as he tugged her towards the boy's dormitory.

"Alone, at last," said Harry and he held her hand as they went over to the sofa by the windows.

"What about your speech?" protested Ginny.

"What speech?" asked Harry lowering his head to hers. He didn't think he would ever tire of having her in his arms.

They broke apart suddenly as they heard boisterous shouting by the portal as whoever was out there tried to guess the password. "Maybe they won't guess right" said Ginny hopefully.

Harry just smiled and pulled out his Invisibility Cloak, covering both of them up with the cloak he said "Where were we?" he murmured, just as there was a cheer of success as the portrait opened and Oliver Wood, Finnigan, and the others tumbled into the room, talking loudly. The other Gryffindors were about to sit down in the sofas when the cloak covering Harry and Ginny slid down and revealed their entwined heads.

"Bloody Hell!" yelped Wood, jumping back from the sofa where he had been about to sit down.

"How in the name of Peeves are they doing that?" said Finnigan.

Harry and Ginny, suddenly aware of the conversation, looked up with a grin and just pulled the cloak back over themselves.

"I reckon we better go off to bed then" said Woods with a chuckle to the group and they all snickered as they loudly tromped up the stairs.

Ginny and Harry both laughed as they heard another shout "Bloody Hell, close those curtains, Weasley!" followed by an "Awww, Hermione, come on back, they don't mind."

A flushed Hermione came down the stairs, "You could have shouted up a warning, Harry," she spoke to the room at large even though she couldn't see them.

Ginny laughed and broke away from Harry and removed the cloak. "Sorry, Harry. If I don't get some sleep I'm going to collapse. Come on Hermione. Let's see what shape the girl's dormitory is-"

"What about the speech?" Hermione looked pointedly at the parchment that was still rolled up on the table.

"I'll work on it now," promised Harry, "Maybe Ginny can help me some more?"

The two girls both laughed at him and went up the stairs to their dormitory. The smiled faded from Harry's face and he sat down at the table and unrolled Hermione's draft. As usual, she had been very thorough, "when did she have time to look up quotes from 'Hogwarts: a History?'" he asked himself, shaking his head. There was no way he could give the speech she had written.

Setting down the parchment he looked around the Gryffindor common room that had been his true home for so long. He remembered his amazement as a 11-year old boy walking into the room for the first time. All the times spent studying at the tables with Ron and Hermione, with the two of them bickering back and forth, talking to Sirius through the flue network, kissing Ginny for the first time during a jubilant celebration of the Gryffindor Quidditch win.

With a sigh, he headed up the stairs to the boy's dormitory. Woods, Finnigan, Weasley were already in their beds. His last thoughts before going to sleep were of Ginny.


	5. The Last Dragon

"Harry, wake up. It is time to get going," Ron shook him. "It is nearly eight, I promised my mum that we would meet them before the Ceremony." Ron was already dressed. Harry stared at Ron in his formal robes.

"Robes! I don't have my good ones! Where did you get those?"

"Hermione, of course, she had them in her bag. Kreacher got all the wrinkles out of them and everything. Yours are over there." Ron pointed as he was leaving.

Harry slowly got dressed and headed downstairs. Ginny was there waiting for him. "I sent the others on ahead," as Harry kissed her good morning.

"I guess there is nothing more to do than just get it over with," said Harry.

"You do realize that in the great perspective of things, considering that you have killed a basilisk, robbed a bank, survived the killing curse, and battled Voldemort; that giving a speech shouldn't seem so bad."

"Yeah, but I'm better with actions than words."

They headed to breakfast that was again being held in the Room of Requirement. The number of people gathered seemed to have grown even more. "How are we ever going to find my parents," asked Ginny bewildered.

"Just do what I always do, just walk until you see red hair and then hope there is a chair. But don't sit next to Dudley this time."

Ginny laughed, "He sat next to me last night."

By the time they found everyone Harry knew he couldn't sit down and try to eat. And he certainly wasn't up to talking to his aunt who was sitting next to the only empty chair. "I'm just going to head out and make sure everything is ready," he gave a quick wave of his hand and left before anyone could stop him.

The ceremony was being held in the Quidditch stadium. It was the only place large enough to hold everyone who had come for the ceremony. Where the house colors would normally fly during a Quidditch match fifty-three banners were hung, each with the image and dates for a fallen warrior from the Battle of Hogwarts. Harry slowly turned until he'd found Fred, Colin, Lupin and Tonks banners.

The playing field had been filled with chairs reserved for the families who lost loved ones, and a dais rose on one side of the field. Chairs for the speakers were set up and a podium was standing ready off to the side. Already people were filling in to the stadium seats. Beyond the playing field, outside the stadium he could see where the Field of Honor that had been dug. Nine rows across, six graves deep. Fifty-four. Harry realized that the last one was for Snape, he looked back at the banners, even though he knew already he wouldn't see Snape's face with all of the others.

He saw McGonagall, Shacklebolt, and the other wizards gathering off to the side. Taking a deep breath and wiping his sweating palms on his robe he slowly made his way over to them.

"Good morning Harry, ready to face your dragon?" queried Professor McGonagall as he drew up to them.

"Yes, ma'am" Harry responded with a confidence that he didn't feel.

"Do you want to leave your speech up on the podium?" she offered.

"Um, no, that's okay."

"Potter, let me show you where you will be sitting," offered McGonagall as she led him away from the others. "Are you truly ready for this? It occurred to me this morning that you have stepped up to every challenge this school and the wizarding world has ever thrown at you. If this is just too much-"

"No," blurted Harry quickly, before he changed his mind. "I can do it." he said a little more firmly at her doubtful expression. "I owe it to Dumbledore and all of the others."

"Very good, Harry," and she walked away, her emerald dress robes flapping behind her as she walked to greet other dignitaries.

The stadium was quickly filling up now, Harry went behind the dais and leaned against one of the pillars. He stared up at the Quidditch rings that shone brilliantly in the sunshine. Some of his favorite memories had been made on this Quidditch field. It was sad to think that he would never have another opportunity to play a match within its walls.

Harry sensed her perfume and presence mere seconds before she touched his elbow. "Harry, I just wanted to wish you good luck and let you know..." reaching up she kissed him hard on the lips, and said in a rush "I love you" and darted off again, brushing past Shacklebolt as she was leaving.

"We are ready, Harry," Shacklebolt announced, Harry dragged his eyes away from Ginny's retreating form.

"Right," with a feeling of dread he followed other man up the stairs and on to the platform. It was only then he could see that everyone that come for the ceremony.

Harry sat in the chair and looked out over the hundreds of people that filled the stands. Every wizard and witch in Britain seemed to be in the stands. There was no way of finding Ginny in the crowd but he scanned looking for the tell-tale Weasley hair. He still hadn't spotted them when the first speaker stood up and approached the podium.

He heard the man he didn't recognize start talking about the men and women who had died and the valor in which they sacrificed their lives. Then he heard McGonagall say his name and he forced himself to stand up and walk towards the podium. The roar of the crowd shook the platform.

Licking his lips nervously, he brushed the hair out of his eyes as he waited for the applause to die down. Looking out at the crowd he finally spotted the Weasleys. Ginny was clutching Hermione's hand and staring hard at him. A calm feeling came over him and he started.

"I was asked to talk to you about what happened, to tell you about Voldemort and how these brave men and women came to fight here. In order to tell you how and why everything happened, though, I have to talk about myself, even though this isn't my day, it isn't my story, but one can't be told without the other," Harry felt himself start to ramble and took a deep breath and started again.

"My name is Harry Potter," another roar filled the stadium. This time he did not let it die down on its own, he held up his hands and the crowd fell silent, "You, the wizarding community, have known who I am, far longer than I have known you. I was raised by my Muggle aunt and uncle who did not know what to do with me. It was only when Hagrid brought me my Hogwarts letter that I discovered that there was a magical world, one very different than the world that I knew growing up on Privet Drive.

"I had no idea what this new life would be like, I just knew that for the first time there might be an explanation for why I was so different from all the other people I knew. An explanation other than being what my aunt and uncle called a freak. Hagrid took me that first day to Diagon Alley, and as we walked through the Leaky Cauldron I heard people whisper my name, people came up to me and shook my hand, and I had no idea why.

"And then I came to Hogwarts. At last I had a place where I truly belonged. This was my home, my first home, for six years. That very first day at Hogwarts I had the luck to discover the two people who would become the best and most loyal friends anyone could have: Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. I don't think they realized what they were in for, but through the last seven years they have been the one constant in my life. And they saved my life more times they I can possibly count.

"And I learned, finally, the truth about my parents. My parents who died protecting me from an evil man. A wizard so feared that few dared to speak his name. The wizard who had killed my parents and dozens more.

"It soon became clear to me and those around me that this wizard, Voldemort, really wanted me dead. It wasn't until my fifth year at Hogwarts that Dumbledore told me why. Voldemort had been told about a prophecy. A prophecy that he chose to believe, true or not, a prophecy that he believed meant that I was his enemy.

"Dumbledore knew that the day would come when there would be an ultimate battle to defeat Voldemort. Dumbledore had figured out Voldemort's darkest secrets. He had come up with a plan to destroy that which gave Voldemort much of his power. But it came at a huge price: he was fatally cursed during his quest to find a way to find Voldemort's weakness.

"Last year, when he knew that his life was ending, Dumbledore asked Severus Snape to be the one to kill him." A rumbling from the audience started to grow louder and louder. "He knew that this would put Professor Snape in a position to get even closer to Voldemort, it would put Professor Snape in a position to help our side."

Taking a deep breath, Harry went on, "Many of you are wondering where I have been for the last year. Why I wasn't organizing a revolt. Why I wasn't doing anything to stop Voldemort. That lives could have been saved if I had fought Voldemort sooner." The stadium had gone silent, he could almost hear all of the audience's collective breath paused, waiting for an explanation.

"Just before he died, Dumbledore told me what needed to be done to defeat Voldemort. Ron, Hermione and I spent the last year carrying out Dumbledore's plan. We could not reveal what we were doing to anyone. If Voldemort had found out, he would have unleashed every ounce of fury he had at defending his secrets and would have made them impossible to destroy. If we had skipped a step, Dumbledore's plan would fail.

"Severus Snape played a critical part in the defeat of Voldemort. He continued to help us, even though he knew that it would mean his death if Voldemort were to discover that he was on our side.

"The last part of Dumbledore's mission that he had given us involved a talisman that was concealed here at Hogwarts. It had to be destroyed. Ron, Hermione and I came here three nights ago in search of it. We knew that Voldemort would be coming here as soon as he heard about the Gringotts break-in, coming to secure his talisman. We needed to locate it before he did. The wizards and witches that heeded the call to arms, those who stood on the ramparts of Hogwarts are the true heroes of the day." He pointed around at the banners flying in the morning sun.

"If it was not for the bravery and strength of the hundreds of wizards, witches and magical creatures that came together that night and defended the very walls of Hogwarts from the Death Eaters, we would not be here today. It was in those last hours of the battle that we finally were able to destroy the last talisman. We would not have been able to do so if it were not for all the people protecting Hogwarts.

"Many of you heard Voldemort's command that he would kill not only every person who was at Hogwarts but their families as well, if they did not give me up to him." Harry's voice began to crack. "I will never be able to express how grateful I am to all of those who stood up in the fight and did not back down.

Harry looked down at the podium in front of him, his hands gripping the sides tightly. He could still hear the sounds of the wounded crying out for help, the sound of his footprints walking on the debris in the hallways during that final walk out of Hogwarts, the silence of the woods as he entered them. He forced himself to look up and sought out Ginny. Tears were streaming down her face as she met his gaze.

"I went into the woods to fulfill the last part of Dumbledore's mission, to meet Voldemort and put an end, finally, to his hold on this world.

"Dumbledore had told me that the most powerful charm I had to protect myself from Voldemort was love," Harry shook his head, "I never truly believed him. Dumbledore insisted that I return to Privet Drive every summer. And, when he finally explained the charm that he believed protected me, the charm that my mother created as she flung herself in front of Voldemort's killing curse. This charm he believed renewed itself every time I stayed in my aunt's home. I didn't think that such a love charm could exist, that love was strong enough to defend against evil as powerful as Voldemort.

"But I have learned that it is true. It was love, that in the end that defeated Voldemort.

"It was an undying and unspoken love that Severus Snape felt for my mother that made him defy Voldemort and provide Dumbledore and the Order with the essential information needed to help defeat Voldemort.

"It was love, that all of these fallen warriors had for their families, that they would sacrifice themselves so that their children could grow up in a safe world." Harry looked out at the families in front of him. He could see Andromeda Tonks holding a sleeping Teddy.

"It was love, that gave me the strength to walk into the Forbidden Forest to meet Voldemort and allow him to strike me down," Harry's eyes sought out Ginny's again. The stadium was completely silent.

"It was love, that destroyed Voldemort's powers and made his curse fail, that allowed me to survive once again.

"It was love, that gave Narcissa Malfoy the courage to lie to Voldemort and tell him that I was dead when he asked her to check on my body after delivering the killing curse.

Harry looked around at the thousands that were sitting before him, "And it is love, that will help us all get through the tremendous loss of these brave men and women in our lives. It is love that will heal the wizarding world and help us come together once again.

"Voldemort is dead. He will never return. It is because of the sacrifice of all of those who stood up and fought that night. The wizarding and Muggle worlds are again safe. But we must have, as Mad Eye Moody would have said, 'Constant Vigilance' to assure that our future generations will be safe from those who wish to do us harm.

Harry looked around the stadium, he didn't know what else to say. "Thank you," and walked quickly away from the podium and was off the platform before the audience realized what had happened. The stunned silence followed him until he had nearly reached the stadium gates, and then there was a thunderous applause and stomping of feet that didn't die down, even as he tore off his formal robes and started to run to get away from it.

He found himself at Dumbledore's tomb. He threw himself on his knees beside the cool marble on the far side of the tomb. His chest was heaving from the exertion, his heartbeat pounded loud in his ears as held his head in his hands. From a distance he could still hear the noise from the stadium.

A voice spoke quietly behind him, Harry jumped to his feet and raised his wand, lowering it as he saw Aberforth approaching him. "You did him proud, Harry." Harry couldn't respond, he put away his wand and put his arms up against the tomb, leaning on them for support. Slowly his breathing slowed down, Aberforth spoke again. "Dumbledore never doubted you."

"None of us ever doubted you, Harry." another voice came from behind them, Ginny walked around the corner of the tomb, Ron and Hermione were right behind her, panting from the race to keep up with his flight from the stadium.

"You did good, Harry," said Ron, "There wasn't a dry eye in the place by the time you were done."

"I don't know how, I really don't," he replied slowly, "I walked out to that podium without a clue about what I was going to say and suddenly words just came to me."

Ginny and Hermione shared a quick look, Harry zoned in on it with certainty. "What did you two do?"

"Nothing!" they both protested identically.

"What did you do?" He looked from Hermione to Ginny. He shifted his eyes back to Hermione and pressed her.

"Hermione. Tell me." he that felt his nerves were stretched so taut that they would shatter.

She gave in first, with a glance to Ginny she said, "We'll have to tell him."

Ginny winced, "Don't be mad Harry," and from her robe pocket she pulled out a small gold decorative bottle. Harry stared at it in disbelief, "Is that...?"

"Yes, the bottle of Felix Felicis you gave us last year." said Hermione, "We, Ginny and I, found it last night up in the girl's dormitory where we had hidden it last year. There were only a few drops left, I didn't really think it would be enough, and was sure that the good luck charm would have worn off by now."

"But how did you give it to me? There was no way you could have slipped it to me." Harry said positively.

With a sly grin, Ginny said. "I rubbed it on my lips right before kissing you."

Aberforth burst out laughing "You'll want to keep your eye on this one, Harry Potter," and walked away from them, chuckling to himself. "Come on down to the Hog's Head anytime, butterbeers are on the house for you four."

They watched as he walked towards the Whomping Willow and disappeared through the hidden tunnel underneath it.

Harry turned back to Ginny, from the corner of his eye he could see Ron and Hermione walking away, hand in hand.

"Come here."

"You aren't really mad are you, Harry?" she asked hesitantly.

He looked down at her "Tell me, was that the Felix Felicis talking when you said you loved me?"

She blushed, "No..."

He bowed his head and kissed her, "I love you, Ginny."

It was much later when they walked back into Hogwarts. Harry could tell that most of the people had left the castle. The halls rang empty as their footsteps traveled down the corridor. McGonagall called out to them as they passed her office.

"In here, if you will please, Harry, Ginny." They entered the office and saw that Shacklebolt was there.

"A very fine job, Potter." McGonagall's eyes were red-rimmed. "A fitting end to a terrible period in this school's history."

Harry shifted restlessly in his chair, he wanted nothing more than to crawl back through the Gryffindor portal and into his bed and sleep for a week.

"What comes next, Harry? asked Shacklebolt.

"I don't know." Harry straightened up, forced himself to think, "I feel like that all the last seven years have been working towards this day. I never could think of what would happen after Voldemort was dead. I had hoped," he said with a glance at McGonagall, "to become an Auror. But you have to graduate with N.E.W.T.s. and I dropped out of school. And, I feel bad that Hermione won't get to graduate, too. She was the best in our year and deserved to graduate."

"As former Head of the Auror department, you have my vote in confidence that you would be an excellent Auror," said Shacklebolt. "But it is a requirement of the position for all Aurors to have graduated with honors from Hogwarts." Harry nodded. He'd known that it would be too much to hope.

A smile came across McGonagall's face, "I believe that if you look at the Hogwarts student registry, Harry, you will find that you are indeed an enrolled student of Hogwarts. You, Ron, and Ginny opted to take a year of Independent Wizarding Studies with a special emphasis in the Defense Against the Dark Arts." Harry stared back at her in disbelief.

She pointed at three scrolls of parchment on her desk, "Your aunt, along with the Grangers and Weasleys, all signed the necessary paperwork before the school year began." said McGonagall. "I am fully prepared to go to the Hogwarts Board and request that you, with the satisfactory completion of a special summer session at Hogwarts, be allowed to graduate. The other two have already agreed to this plan."

Harry turned to look at Ginny, he had wanted nothing more than to go back to the Burrow with her and spend the summer making up for their lost time together before she had to go to school in the fall.

McGonagall added, "I should mention that the summer session will be open to all of the students who were forced out of the school by the events of this last year to catch up and advance with their classes, Miss Weasley included."


	6. At the End of the Day

I wrote this story well over a year ago, it was my first foray into fanfiction. With the hope that my writing has improved since then, I cleaned up all the original chapters. Feeling that there was a little more left to be said I added this final footnote.

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><p>Agreeing to see come back for the summer term, Harry and Ginny left the office. Hand in hand they walked slowly down the corridor. There were crews of wizards working on repairs and they meandered carefully past them, heading for the front steps.<p>

Sitting down they looked out towards the lake. Ginny rested her head on Harry's shoulder. Harry kissed the top of her head, smiling to himself as he remembered all the times that they had done this the year before. He didn't want to think about her having to leave to go back to the Burrow.

As if summoned by his thoughts, he saw Arthur and Molly Weasley walking towards them, coming from the direction of the burial grounds. Arthur had his arm tightly around his wife. Molly clutched a handkerchief but had her face set, as if determined not to cry.

"Here you both are, we knew if we found one of you we would find the other," Arthur Weasley said. Harry flushed but didn't drop this arm from around Ginny's shoulders.

"Did Professor McGonagall talk to you, dear?" Molly asked, looking at Harry.

"Yes, I told her that I would come back for the summer session."

"I'm so glad. I think it will be good for all of you. To be back at Hogwarts without…" Molly's voice faded, and she looked helplessly at her husband.

"Without having to be afraid," Arthur said firmly. Harry felt the shudder that ran through Ginny's body. He hadn't talked to her about what had happened at the school while he was gone. Remembering what Neville has said about the Carrows, Harry was suddenly scared about what Ginny had been through. He knew she was never one to back down from a fight. And he hadn't been there for her, he realized with dread.

Ginny's parents looked at each other as if double-checking before speaking again. "Harry, have you thought about what you are going to do before the summer term begins?"

"Oh, erm, no. Stay here, I suppose. Or maybe at the Hog's Head if Aberforth will let me," Harry shrugged, he couldn't tell her parents that all he wanted was to be with Ginny. "I can help with the repairs, I guess."

"Don't you think you've done enough?" Ginny looked at him with exasperation. She turned to look at him, her eyes glinting with a flash of anger, "If you think that you need to stay here-"

"Ginny," Molly said with a shake of her head, "I think that Harry just meant that he wasn't sure where he should go. Of course, Harry isn't going to stay here. He is going to come home to the Burrow with us."

Harry felt a flood of relief come over him, and he squeezed Ginny's hand. "Are you sure? I don't want to im-"

"Our home is yours, Harry. Always. No matter what happens," Molly looked pointedly at Ginny's and Harry's clasped hands. "We may never have said it out loud but it needs to be said, we love you," her voice trembled, "life is too short to not to tell the ones you love that they are important to you."

Harry stood up and came down the steps and hugged her, "Thank you, for everything. For being there for me. For always taking me in when I needed you," They stood there for a long minute with Arthur patting Harry on the back. Stepping back, Harry nodded brusquely, afraid that after so much happening so quickly that he might break down, "I'd love to come to the Burrow."

"Well, that is settled." Arthur said, a hint of a tremble in his own voice, "We are going to go back now. You two follow when you are ready, just don't be too long."

Ginny hugged her parents good-bye and together they watched the couple walk down the path towards Hogsmeade. When they weren't visible anymore Harry turned to Ginny, "I suppose we should find Ron and Hermione."

"Why?" Harry looked at her in surprise, "They have had you for the nine months, I think they can make it a few hours without you," She took his hand and they started walking towards the lake.

Wordlessly, they headed down the path that would lead them around to the far side of the lake. Harry didn't think he'd ever been more conscious of a person walking next to him before. Her fingers were holding his so tightly that he could hardly tell where her hand ended and his began. Looking over at her, the profile of her face that he'd dreamed about at night was as perfect as he remembered it. The faint dusting of freckles across her nose, the way her hair brushed against her shoulders.

There was something new though, a faint scar that ran along her jaw, healed but still faintly pink.

Stopping, Harry reached up and ran his finger along the scar. "How did that happen?"

Ginny reached up and put her hand over his, "Just before Easter holidays, I was going to meet Neville in his hideaway. He had gotten supplies we needed from Aberforth," she shrugged, "Carrow, Alecto Carrow, caught a glimpse of me and cast a blasting hex as I was running away, it shattered a statue and I got cut by the stone. It wasn't anything."

"Didn't Pomfrey-"

"We couldn't go to her for anything. If we went to her for healing the Carrows would know about it. They had a monitoring spell on the Hospital Wing," Ginny smiled faintly, "She would slip me salve and potions in the corridor, though."

"Merlin, Ginny. You should have gone back to the Burrow-"

"And leave everyone else to fight without me? To give up?" Ginny lifted her chin stubbornly, "Never."

"No, I don't suppose you could have, but I didn't know it was so bad. What else happened? Neville told me a little but…"

Ginny shrugged as she looked over the lake, "It was pretty bad most of the time. Everyone was frightened. Then Luna was taken from the train at Christmas…and I didn't know what was happening with you. That was the worst feeling of all, not knowing what was happening."

"I'm sorry I wasn't here for you," Harry swallowed hard, "If there had been any other way-"

"I know, I don't blame you. I blame Voldemort, and the Carrows and all the other Death Eaters." Ginny's voice sounded bitter. "But they are gone and I have you back and that is all that matters."

Walking over to one of the benches that were along the path, they sat down. "Can you tell me everything that happened? I want to know."

"Are you going to tell me what happened to you? What happened in the Forest?"

"I need time to think about it. I will tell you, I promise," Harry turned so he could put his arms around her. "It just is too much right now." He was afraid that Ginny would be mad that he didn't want to tell her yet. But it was too raw. He could still smell the smoke and dust of the battle, hear the cries of the fallen as he walked across the grass to the forest, feel the brush of the tree branches against his body as he followed the Death Eaters to Voldemort.

Right now he just needed to know that Ginny was safe, find out what had happened to her while he was gone. Fill in all the missing pieces.

Ginny seemed to understand, she started telling him what it was like at Hogwarts when she had returned without him. How the Carrows had set student against student and how she had banded together with Luna and Neville to restart Dumbledore's Army.

Her voice trembled sometimes as she shared the worst of what had happened, but she went on steadily until she looked at him and smiled. "Then three days ago I felt the DA coin in my pocket and I realized that it was finally here. The time to fight. Not that you were going to let me," giving him a sour look.

Harry nodded and couldn't get the nerve up to laugh at her expression, the sight of Ginny coming through the tunnel had filled him with equal amounts of joy and terror. "I didn't want to risk you. I didn't know what was going to happen and I wanted you safe."

"After all this time, don't you realize that it was going to take all of us. You had the hardest part, but-"

"I know, it never would have worked. I couldn't have won alone, but I didn't want to be responsible for more people dying because of me."

Ginny reared back and stared at him, an angry flush staining her cheeks, "You are not responsible for people dying. What kind of nonsense is that? Fred didn't die because of you he died because of Voldemort, a Death Eater killed him."

"But if Voldemort hadn't believed the prophecy he wouldn't have-"

"Of all the silly things you've said over the years that has to be the silliest," Ginny put her hands on his cheeks, "You did not make that madman do all those things. He became fixated on you when you were a baby, for Merlin's sake. You really think that baby-Harry was responsible for this all happening." She nodded towards the damaged castle.

Harry nodded and bit back his response, he knew that in theory she was right but it didn't make the burden on his heart any easier. The sun had started to sink towards the west and Harry knew that as understanding her parents were, they should be heading to the Burrow. "Let's go home."


End file.
